Shadcwforged:

shadcwforged​:

The lights of Gotham City was bright, and the golden light of the spotlight with the stylized bat symbol emblazoned in the sky. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t be cooped up on the seventy five floor of Wayne Tower, in his office, in front of the ceiling to floor windows, and would be out there, geared up and meeting a coffee-fueled Captain James Gordon on the rooftop of the GCPD building, for a late night sit down. Nightwing or Batgirl, or Robin would be out there to find out what the cops needed from him, as he was under a microscope by the board of directors, as profits and what was in Wayne Enterprises’s books didn’t quite match.

Someone was skimming money from Wayne Tech, and it wasn’t pocket change either. 

Bruce felt his phone vibrate, and he saw Leslie’s name on the screen, as he looked at it, and he brought the phone up to his ear, after acccepting his call. It had been years since Jason’s funeral, and he had a new young man to don the Robin colors and carry on the name as Batman’s junior partner, but it was still a hollow mark inside of him. Leslie had been there for him, which had brought him out of Wayne Manor, spending the majority of his time in front of a monitor in the Batcave, running criminal cases through the Batcomputer, and the man known as Bruce Wayne being more of a reclusive, rockstar-ish figure who never left his own palacial house, not the respectable, figurehead of Wayne Enterprises who funded all of the city’s social programs with his own money.

Leslie was one of the few people he trusted, who knew his identity as Gotham’s shadowy protector, besides Alfred, Vicki Vale, Talia and the people from the Bat-Family and the Justice League that he directly worked with. It was Alfred’s idea, as Leslie needed to know everything about him and peer deep into his darkened soul, full of broken pearl necklaces and shell casings, and roses scattered across the ground in Crime Alley.

“Hi, Leslie. Thanks for returning my call.” He went to go shut the door to his office, before walking back to the window, as rivulets of rain dropped down the glass. “Hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”

"No, no not at all." Leslie sat back in her office chair, rolling her pen between her fingertips. "I was actually thinking I might have caught you at a bad time, given how late it is..."

She left the rest of her words hanging unspoken in the air, her surprise that he wasn't out on patrol. It was safe to presume he wasn’t, as Bruce generally wouldn’t take calls while preoccupied. Not from Leslie at least.

"I'd just finished for the day and picked up your voicemail... how are things? Its been a while since we last caught up. I think we are overdue to have dinner actually, I was going to call next week myself if I hadn’t heard from you."

jp-todd-rp​:

Jason’s cheeks flashed bright red as he shrugged again, trying to play off his initial burst of panic. “Dunno,” he murmured, nervously looking away. “Thought that after this meet-up, it’d be done, y'know? Green light for the old man. But –”

She said Dick called her.

So, it was… casual?

“He just calls you, that’s it?”

“He calls, texts. The occasional lunch when we're both in the same city. I travel through to Bludhaven sometimes for work.” Leslie smiled softly, answering the easier question first, shoving the sense of alarm down for the moment. “I’ve known him since he was your age. A little younger perhaps?”

He thought he was there as some test? To be greenlit for the role as Robin? It was a severe oversight on her part, and Bruce's, that had to be corrected. Heaven forbid she think Bruce able to actually explain why he had asked Jason to see her.

Before Jason could interject, Leslie continued. "I'd like to clarify something with you Jason before we go any further. About being here and talking to me. I won't be talking to Bruce about the details of what goes on during our conversations. I suppose if I suspected you were a danger to yourself or... well I suppose hurting others is somewhat in the job description... My point is, it isn't my place to 'greenlight' anything. I wouldn't want to even if I were asked to."

"I'm here to hold a space for you to talk openly about your feelings, and hopefully reflect back in a way that makes things easier for you to deal with. Things already haven't been easy for you, and being Robin has unique challenges of its own. I want you to know that there's always someone willing to listen."

"I think I need help" @mr007pennyworth

Leslie looked up in concern. His words jarring her out of her task. Still, there was no panic, no sense of urgency. Not a life or death matter then.

"Help with what?" She ventured cautiously. With Alfred, Leslie knew it was anyones guess.

Leslie beamed, pleased with Bruce's reaction. "The same way I get most of you to do anything." She shrugged easily. "Cashing in owed favours, thinly veiled threads and a tiny amount of blackmail."

The group photo was crammed to the brim with the smiling faces of Bruces brood. It was chaotic, reminiscent of the viral oscars selfie but getting all of Bruces children, wards, mentees all together at once was no small feat. Even Jason had gone along with it in the end, lurking in the background. "Dick helped me co-ordinate it all. Getting them all in one place at the same time took longer than I'll admit."

"Theres a suited up version too. I'll send both electronically, but I thought this one was more office desk appropriate." Pulling out her phone, it took Leslie a few moments to figure out where the picture was, before offering it to Bruce to take a look.

Continued from x with @bruce-wayne-rp

“Leslie. This is a surprise –”

Bruce’s startled expression softened when he took in her words and the wrapped gift in her hands. “Thank you, Leslie. You needn’t have. Come on in, please, can I get you anything?’

“As if I’d let your birthday just pass us by. Don’t be silly.” Leslie admonished without any real heat to it, heels clicking against the solid wood flooring of his office.

“I’m fine, thank you.” She waved him off, taking a seat in one of the armchairs, eyeing the paperwork strewn across his desk. With a suspicious look, albeit tinged with amusement, Leslie jutted her chin out before passing Bruce the small wrapped photo frame. “You aren’t working today, are you?”

undauntedway​:

“Ah, I see.” Alfred cleared his throat. “Well, I know I make a poor substitute, but we can have lunch.” He gave her a smile. “I am as well as I can be.” 

“Lunch would be wonderful.” Leslie grinned, adding with a tone that allowed for little argument. “Don’t be selling yourself short now.”

She supposed she would have a much more pleasant time talking to Alfred than trying to coax Bruce into conversation at any rate. Leslie could always try to pin the younger man down later. “It’s been a while since we have been able to catch up. I think we are long overdue anyway.”

asdglj Leslie really was like "don't you use that tone with me, young man"